The  American  Church  Missionary  Society  ' 


ADVENT  1900 


CHURCH  MISSIONS  HOUSE, 

281  FOURTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


The  Mission  in  Cuba, 


In  another  pamphlet  we  publish  an  autobiographical  sketch  of  the  Rev. 
Pedro  Duarte,  and  in  that  may  be  read  the  story  of  the  earlier  Missionary 
work  in  Cuba.  This  brief  narrative  begins  with  the  close  of  the  late  war 
and  the  occupation  of  the  island  by  the  American  troops,  when  a  resump¬ 
tion  of  Missionary  work  was  made  possible. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Duarte,  with  his  family,  returned  to.Matanzag  in  December, 
1898,  and  he  at  once  resumed  work  in  that  city.  His  chapel  had  been  a 
refuge  for  the  reconcentrados,  dead  bodies  had  lain  for  days  in  his  vestry, 
and  the  building  was  desolated.  At  comparatively  small  cost  the  chapel 
and  parsonage  were  restored  and  reoccupied.  Mr.  Duarte  immediately 
made  the  influence  of  his  strong  character  and  work  felt,  and  soon  acquired 
prominence  and  weight  in  the  community.  A  school  was  inaugurated,  and 
Senor  Pedro  R.  Someillan  and  Sefiorita  Mercedes  Acosta  were  secured  to 
assist  the  Missionary.  At  once  this  enterprise  was  successful,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  capacity  of  the  building  and  the  force  was  reached. 

That  influence  has  now  grown  to  even  remarkable  proportions.  At  the 
formal  occupation  of  Matanzas  by  Gen.  Wilson,  he  (Mr.  Duarte)  was  depu¬ 
tized  to  hoist  the  American  flag,  and,  at  the  request  of  the  citizens,  delivered 
the  address  of  welcome.  A  bit  later,  when  his  mother  “fell  on  sleep,”  he 
was  able  to  get  permission  to  bury  her  in  the  cemetery,  the  first  Protestant 
burial,  we  believe,  ever  had  in  a  Cuban  cemetery  ;  and  last  Fall,  when 
eighty  of  the  Cuban  soldier  dead  were  reinterred  in  the  cemetery,  Mr. 
Duarte  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moreno,  our  Missionary  in  Bolondron,  headed  a 
procession  of  twenty  thousand  Cubans  and  buried  these  soldiers  with  our 
Office  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead.  Lately  he  and  Senor  Someillan  have 
been  requested  to  become  members  of  the  City  Council.  From  time  to 
time  Mr.  Duarte  has  visited  neighboring  points,  and  always  with  success, 
developing  opportunities  wherever  he  has  gone.  Only  lack  of  means  has 
prevented  their  further  occupation. 

His  chapel  in  Matanzas,  while  too  small  for  his  work,  is  an  attractive 
house  of  worship,  his  parsonage  a  pleasant  home,  his  school  has  some  180 
children  in  it,  and  of  the  improvement  seen  in  them  too  much  can  not  be 
said.  The  visitor  sees  at  once  the  unmistakable  presence  of  inspiration,  and 
of  that  inspiration  which  is  from  without  and  above.  Christ  shows  in  the 
faces,  the  manners,  and  the  appearance  of  these  children.  The  work  in 
Matanzas  has  been  a  splendid  Christian  work. 

Last  Autumn,  at  Mr.  Duarte’s  instance,  an  Orphanage  was  established  in 


4 


Matanzas.  A  fair  building  was  bought  adapted  to  its  new  purpose,  well 
equipped,  and  fifteen  children  were  placed  in  it.  This  number  has  now 
been  increased  to  fifty,  who  are  being  well  cared  for.  We  quote  the  follow¬ 
ing  letter  in  testimony  of  this  good  work  : 

“  I  spent  last  Sunday  (January  28th)  in  Matanzas.  The  Orphanage  is  the 
cleanest,  most  homelike,  and  the  best  equipped  institution  of  its  kind  that  I 
have  seen  in  Cuba.  The  little  white  beds  were  particularly  attractive  to 
me.  The  fact  that  they  are  entirely  made  of  iron  makes  them  the  best  beds 
for  Cuba  that  could  possibly  be  found.  I  was  delighted  with  them  and 
with  the  table  furniture.  The  children  seemed  more  refined  than  in  any 
Orphanage  I  had  seen  before,  and  are  certainly  better  clothed  and  neater 
in  appearance  than  it  has  been  possible  to  acomplish  with  the  great  number 
of  children  and  with  the  means  at  command  in  Cienfuegos.  I  do  not  see 
how  so  much  has  been  accomplished  in  so  short  a  time.  It  must  be  because 
the  Church  and  the  school  have  prepared  the  way  for  the  Orphanage.  It 
was  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  see  the  work  in  Matanzas,  and  I  cannot 
praise  it  too  highly.  “  Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  “Annie  M.  Reed.” 

In  the  later  days  of  last  year  he  must  needs  say  “  Adios  ”  to  his  daughter, 
as  in  the  earlier  days  he  had  said  it  to  his  mother,  his  “  right  hand,”  he  said 
she  was.  God  called  her  to  Himself.  She  had  been  a  faithful  and  devoted 
co-worker  in  her  father’s  mission,  and  so  it  was  that  when  the  Orphanage 
was  opened,  by  resolution  of  the  Executive  Committee,  it  was  named,  in 
commemoration  of  her,  “Palmira  Duarte,”  and  her  works  follow  her. 

In  that  portion  of  Havana  known  as  the  Tesus  del  Monte,  Sefior  Jose  R. 
Pena,  our  lay-reader,  managed  to  maintain  his  service  through  the  entire 
war,  the  only  Protestant  service,  we  believe,  had  on  the  island  during  that 
period. 

There  was  no  break,  therefore,  in  this  service,  and  the  Society  immedi¬ 
ately  came  to  his  assistance.  His  influence  and  his  congregation  have 
steadily  grown,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  here  we  have  the 
good  beginning  of  a  permanent  Church  structure.  Sefior  Pefia  is  now  a 
candidate  for  Holy  Orders.* 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Neilson,  in  January,  1899,  at  the  request  of  the  Society, 
went  to  Havana,  and  during  the  earlier  portions  of  that  year  reorganized, 
as  perhaps  no  one  else  could  have  done,  the  congregation  on  the  Prado, 
especially  among  the  English-speaking  people.  In  the  next  month  the 
the  Rev.  W.  H.  McGee  was  sent  to  assist  him  and  to  assume  charge  of  this 
work  upon  Dr.  Neilson’s  return  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  McGee,  with 
much  discretion  and  energy,  pushed  the  work  set  in  motion  by  Dr.  Neil¬ 
son,  and  soon  won  for  himself  a  place  in  the  esteem  of  everybody;  the 
prominent  Americans,  both  civilians  and  soldiers,  came  to  his  side,  and  his 


*  Ordained  Deacon  December  6,  1900,  by  the  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania. 


5 


service  soon  numbered  among  its  regular  attendants,  officers  and  privates 
and  the  better  class  of  American  civilians.  “It  was  a  beautiful  sight,”  a 
lady  writes,  “to  see  six  or  seven  officers  in  the  American  uniform  kneeling 
at  the  chancel  rail  for  the  Holy  Communion,”  and  that  was  frequently  the 
case,  and  is  still.  Mr.  McGee  labors  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  no 
reputable  building  for  his  chapel.  Until  the  middle  of  December,  1899,  we 
had  been  compelled  to  use  an  upper  room  over  a  cafe  on  the  Prado,  a  noisy, 
disagreeable  location.  Then  Mr.  McGee  was  stricken  with  yellow  fever, 
and,  unfortunately,  in  a  room  on  the  same  floor  adjoining  the  chapel.  We 
were,  therefore,  compelled  to  abandon  its  use,  and  after  a  while,  through 
the  kindness  first  of  Gen.  Brooke  and  then  of  Gen.  Wood,  we  were  given 
permission  to  move  into  an  unused  commissary  warehouse,  where  we  are 
still.  It  is  an  improvement  on  our  old  quarters,  but  it  can  never  stand  for 
a  Church.  Could  we  build  an  attractive  Church,  it  is  safe  to  say  we  should 
soon  have  a  self-supporting  congregation.  Our  building  is  a  dreadful 
handicap.  Social  laws  and  ceremonials  in  Cuba  are  rigid.  The  gentleman 
and  the  lady  will  consider  it  beneath  their  dignity  and  incompatible  with 
their  refinement  to  attend  such  a  Church.  The  poorer  class  are  doubtful 
about  it.  It  is  the  sign  of  something  cheap.  They  do  not  know  us,  and 
they  must  and  will  judge  us  by  our  exponents,  and  because  of  these 
exponents  we  are  rated  by  them  with  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Associa¬ 
tion,  etc.  When  this  is  remedied  through  the  generosity  of  our  own 
people,  we  shall  see  Mr.  McGee  at  the  head  of  a  strong  center  of  religious 
influence,  which  will  be  felt  throughout  that  portion  of  Cuba.  Havana 
is  spiritually,  as  well  as  politically,  the  key  to  the  island. 

In  the  Summer  of  1899,  Sefior  Arturo  Escaroz  was  asked  to  take  charge 
of  a  school  projected  in  Havana,  connected  with  the  chapel.  He  consented, 
and  vacating  his  position  as  a  teacher  of  Latin  in  an  Havana  college,  opened 
this  new  work.  Thus  far  it  has  justified  itself,  and  Sehor  Escaroz  has 
accomplished  ail  that  could  have  been  expected  under  existing  circum¬ 
stances.  He  has  become  a  postulant,  and  it  is  hoped,  before  a  great  while, 
he  may  push  himself  to  ordination,  and  so  give  us  another  native  clergyman 
in  Cuba. 

In  July  last  the  Rev.  Manuel  F.  Moreno  was  sent  as  a  Missionary  to 
Bolondron,  He  is  a  Cuban  himself,  and  familiar  with  the  work,  having 
been  engaged  in  it  under  the  auspices  of  this  Society  before  the  war.  He 
and  his  faithful  wife  at  once  made  themselves  busy.  He  found  a  few 
communicants  there,  and  some  people  turning  toward  the  Church,  and  a 
pitiful  orphan  asylum,  desperately  begun  by  a  noble  Cuban  physician  in  an 
almost  reckless  hope  to  help  the  little  suffering  children.  The  Missionary 
soon  won  affection  and  esteem,  and  has  since  then  been  made  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  His  chapel  was  furnished  in  a  simple — in  a  too 
simple — and  cheap  way.  But  his  work  succeeded,  and  to-day  he  stands  in 
his  community  and  among  his  people  well.  The  fact  that  in  January  last 


6 


Bishop  Whitaker  confirmed  forty-four  persons  in  this  station,  the  result  of 
six  months’  work,  tells  something  of  his  devotion  and  success.  The 
Orphanage,  for  lack  of  support — the  Society  did  not  have  the  means  at  its 
disposal — has  been  discontinued,  and  the  girls  removed  to  Matanzas.  But 
what  Cuba  needs,  it  should  be  known,  is  not  food  and  clothes,  nor  yet  so 
much  education,  but  God’s  truth  and  Christian  inspiration.  Movements 
directed  to  other  ends  are  likely  to  prove  to  be  waste  of  energy  and  generous 
means  until  Christian  forces  are  well  in  operation. 

Bishop  Whitaker,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Whitaker,  sailed,  in  January,  for 
Cuba,  to  make  his  Episcopal  visitations.  The  report  of  this  visit  has  been 
made  by  him  to  the  presiding  Bishop,  and  is  gratifying  ;  he  confirmed  ii8 
persons.  With  him  went  the  Rev.  Andrew  T.  Sharpe,  to  occupy  as  a 
Missionary  such  field  as  the  Bishop  should  presently  determine.  Mr. 
Sharpe  for  some  weeks  took  charge  of  the  work  in  Havana,  that  Mr.  McGee 
might  have  opportunity  to  recover  with  greater  ease  from  his  very  severe 
attack  of  yellow  fever,  which  had  left  him  much  enfeebled.  Later,  upon 
Mr.  McGee’s  resumption  of  his  work,  Mr.  Sharpe  went  to  Matanzas,  where 
he  discovered  a  large  and  important  English-speaking  colony  and  con¬ 
gregation,  and  with  them  he  remained  and  worked  for  some  months  ;  he 
has  now  returned  to  Havana,  but  on  January  ist  will  open  our  Mission  in 
Santiago.  Mr.  Sharpe  speaks  Spanish,  and  has  before  him  a  bright  future 
in  Cuba. 

This  constitutes  what  may  be  called  the  organized  work  in  Cuba.  In 
Guantanamo  a  lady  of  this  communion  has  been  actively  engaged  in  work 
among  the  poor  children,  with  a  school  and  a  day  nursery  and  something 
of  an  orphanage,  at  her  own  charges  and  through  the  response  to  her  per¬ 
sonal  appeals  to  friends.  She  urges  the  Church  to  take  up  her  work,  and 
make  it  specifically  a  Church  work,  but  thus  far  we  have  been  unable  to 
secure  her  help,  and  that  opportunity  may  fade  away.  God  forefend. 
Just  such  another  story  is  told  of  a  lady  in  Sagua  la  Grande,  and  just  such 
failure  to  meet  the  issue.  God  stir  up  the  hearts  of  His  faithful  people  to 
do  their  duty  in  these  places  crying  for  Christ’s  help.  In  El  Roque  we  are 
coaxingly  invited  to  come,  in  Cienfuegos  there  is  fair  opportunity,  in 
Remedios  they  petition  us  to  come  and  work.  But  everywhere  in  Cuba  we 
have  had  opportunity,  invitation  and  welcome. 

Can  the  people  of  this  Church  in  the  homeland  be  aroused  to  such  gene¬ 
rosity  and  interest  as  will  compare  with  the  energy  and  character  of  those 
in  the  field,  we  shall  win  much  of  Cuba  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

During  this  year — 1900-1901— we  should  have  at  least  |i2,ooo,  to  main¬ 
tain  our  work,  and  at  least  S6o,ooo  for  the  erection  of  a  Church  in  Havana, 
and  Chapels  elsewhere.*  With  these  funds  in  hand  our  Cuban  work  will  be 
assured,  and  never  was  opportunity  greater. 


*  A  Chapel  in  Bolondron  is  now  building. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/missionincubaadvOOamer 


